Charlie Hebdo: Paris lost much, but not its joie de vivre

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Charlie Hebdo editor and cartoonist Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, was among the 12 people killed in a terror attack Wednesday, January 7, at the magazine's offices in Paris. On January 9, four hostages were killed when a gunman seized a Jewish grocery store and killed them before police moved in.

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Jean Cabut, also known as Cabu, was one of the well-known Charlie Hebdo cartoonists killed in the attack. London's Daily Mail described him as "an almost legendary cultural figure in France."

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Cartoonist Georges Wolinski, 80, was a political cartoonist. "He was a great satirical artist," said Mexican cartoonist Felipe Galindo, a friend of Wolinski, who once presented him with an award. "Nothing was sacred for him. He would touch anything. But he was also a very gentle, very kind man."

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Cartoonist Bernard Verlhac, also known as Tignous, was a man "who enjoyed freedom to its fullest in his artistic creativity and published his cartoons without fear," said Ecuadorian cartoonist Xavier Bonilla.

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Economist Bernard Maris was among the magazine's contributors. He wrote about economic issues under the byline of "Oncle Bernard," contributed to mainstream broadcasts and taught at Université Paris 8, the Globe and Mail reported.

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Cartoonist Philippe Honoré, also known as Honoré, was born in wartime France, in Vichy in 1941.

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Michel Renaud was a visitor at the newspaper office. He was known for his work on the cultural life of Clermont-Ferrand and held several positions in the municipality, France 3 Auvergne reported.

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Elsa Cayat, the only woman killed in the newspaper attack, was a psychoanalyst and twice-monthly columnist for the paper.

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Ahmed Merabet was a member of the 11th arrondissement police force that pursued the attacker of the newspaper office. Merabet was Muslim, his brother Malek told reporters. "He was killed by false Muslims," the brother said. "Islam is a safe religion."

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

Yoav Hattab, 21, one of the four hostages killed at the kosher grocery on January 9. He was the son of the chief rabbi of Tunis, Tunisia, JSSNews reported.

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Yohan Cohen was a 22-year-old student, according JSSNews and a French news outlet. He liked rap, particularly French rapper Booba.

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Philippe Braham was in his 40s, and no further details were immediately available, JSSNews reported.

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Photos:Victims of the Paris terror attacks

François-Michel Saada, 63, was a retired senior executive, according to French news outlets RTL and Agence-France Press.

Story highlights

Bryony Jones was in Paris to cover the Hebdo story; she found city stunned but defiant

Later in November for the terror attacks, Jones found Parisians scared rather than angry

(CNN)Pens and pencils at the ready, the journalists and cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo had gathered to prepare the satirical magazine's next issue. It was the kind of editorial conference that goes on every day in newsrooms around the world.

The Charlie Hebdo team had been only too aware of the risks their fiery, take-no-prisoners brand of satire could bring. The magazine's previous offices had been bombed, and editor Stephane "Charb" Charbonnier had received death threats for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

Being a journalist can be dangerous. The roll of honor, updated all too often, on the Committee to Protect Journalists' website is proof of this; but for those like me who spend more time at their desks than diving for cover in warzones, the risk of death seems a distant prospect.

This was something different. The Charlie Hebdo team had been massacred in their own office, supposedly as "punishment" for doing their job; others -- police, visitors, a caretaker -- died because they were in the wrong place at the worst possible time.

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Journalism itself was under attack, a fact brought home to me as I sat on a Eurostar train, heading towards Paris to cover the story. With the killers still on the loose, all CNN staffers covering the story were warned not to post details of their movements on social media, for fear that we too might become targets.

Arriving in the city a short time later, I found it stunned, but defiant.

The gunmen who opened fire inside Charlie Hebdo's unassuming office in the 11th arrondissement had taken aim at freedom of speech. In a country devoted since the French Revolution to the principles of "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite," such a thing was -- previously -- unthinkable.

Hours after the first shots rang out in Rue Nicolas Appert, Parisian Corentin Vacheret was one of thousands of mourners at the Place de la Republique, insisting that "killing journalists is not going to make us renounce our freedom of expression."

Photos:Thousands rally in Paris

People march down Boulevard Voltaire from the Place de la Republique to the Place de la Nation in Paris on Sunday, January 11. An estimated 1.5 million people joined world leaders in the "unity rally."

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Demonstrators hold a sign that translates as "Urgent: More democracy everywhere against barbarism."

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Demonstrators wave flags on the monument at the center of the Place de la Republique before the rally.

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Charlie Hebdo cartoonist Renald "Luz" Luzier, left, speaks to Charlie Hebdo journalist Patrick Pelloux during the rally. Luzier is the only surviving cartoonist left at the magazine.

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European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, from left, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, French President Francois Hollande, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi walk together as they lead thousands of people during the rally.

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The massive crowd at the Place de la Republique is seen from above.

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People gather at Place de la Nation in Paris.

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A young man waves a French national flag in the streets of Paris.

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Demonstrators make their way along boulevard Voltaire during the rally.

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Luzier, center with mustache, marches with other survivors of the Charlie Hebdo massacre as well as family members of victims.

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A banner attached to a house overlooking the Place de la Republique reads "Freedom" as thousands of people gather below.

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A demonstrator holds up an oversized pencil, a symbol of freedom of expression, beside a banner showing solidarity with Charlie Hebdo, the magazine where 12 people were killed last week.

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British Prime Minister David Cameron, second from right, stands with other world leaders during the rally.

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A crowd gathers at the Place de la Republique before a massive unity rally in Paris on January 11.

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Demonstrators gather in the Place de la Republique before the rally on January 11.

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A man and boy watch people gather for the rally from a balcony near the Place de la Republique.

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A police officer keeps watch over the Place de la Republique before the rally.

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French President Francois Hollande hugs German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she arrives at the Elysee Palace before the rally.

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People gather before the rally.

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A police officer keeps watch before the rally.

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In the days and weeks following the Charlie Hebdo attack, millions took to the streets to defend people's "Liberte" to say whatever they wanted without fear of violence or retribution.

Holding pens aloft, they chanted "Je Suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie") and left pencils and art supplies as tributes among the more traditional bouquets and candles.

At one of the many demonstrations, Anais Ruales told me it was important to "keep in mind that, like 'Charlie' we are always trying to fight for peace and freedom [don't] forget that in the moment of terror, of anger."

The same night, wrapped up against the cold, Leslie Martin was defiant, waving a hand-painted sign that read "I am Charlie. I am a police officer. I am not frightened."

"I'm not afraid. I'm here, and ... I don't care if anybody comes and wants to do something really bad. I'm not afraid to die with this," she continued, shaking her placard, "Because I'm really proud of it."

But in November, when men armed with assault rifles appeared on the city's streets once more, it was Paris itself, its people, and its way of life that seemed to be under attack.

And this time, people were scared, rather than angry.

Attackers armed with Kalashnikovs and explosives targeted half a dozen locations across the city, from a sports stadium to a concert venue, and a string of bars and restaurants, killing 130 people and wounding dozens more.

If such a thing could happen to workmates celebrating a birthday party, to music fans dancing at a gig or to friends sat sharing a Friday night pizza, it could happen to anyone, couldn't it?

Eiffel Tower tour guide Adam El Daly, who was out with friends near the scene of the attacks, explained the fear sparked by the apparent lack of reasoning behind them.

"When the Charlie Hebdo attack happened, I was very shocked, but it was picked because it was a symbol, they were journalists targeted for their work," he said. "This time it was indiscriminate -- the victims could have been you or me -- and that's what's freaking people out."

Back in Paris once more, wandering past the floral tributes, messages and bottles of wine and beer piled outside the Belle Equipe, I came across a defiant note that read: "We will continue to live, to dance, to listen to music, to have fun on café terraces, to kiss and to help one another."

Moments later, as I walked along a gray, wintry street in the 11th arrondissement, past armed police on patrol, cheery piano music bubbled out across the sidewalk. Looking to see where it had come from, I peeked through a door and found a tap lesson in full swing.

Just a few streets away from the scene of several of the attacks, only days later, Parisians were dancing once more.

Perhaps they were following the advice of Antoine Leiris, who lost his wife, Helen Muyal, at the Bataclan. His Facebook post declaring that her killers "will not have my hatred" went viral.

"If we stand free, if we stand here with a zest for life, with happiness ... then [the terrorists] don't win," he told CNN in the wake of the attacks.

In the past 12 months, the people of Paris have lost many things: innocence and security, friends and loved ones -- but not, it seems, their joie de vivre.